China has pulled out 73 vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) based on the latest monitoring of the Philippine Navy (PN).
Data released by the PN on Tuesday, Oct. 1, showed that 178 Chinese vessels were monitored operating in different features in the WPS from Sept. 24 to 30.
This was lower than the record-high 251 vessels during the preceding Sept. 17 to 23 monitoring.
Comparing the two periods, there were more Chinese People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) warships last week than the preceding week, 17 to 16, but lesser Chinese maritime militia vessels (CMMVs), 131 to 204, and Chinese research and survey vessels (CRSVs), two to three.
Meanwhile, the number of China Coast Guard (CCG) ships was maintained at 28.
“These are raw figures based on a one-week monitoring, it is too early to attribute the decrease to any particular event,” Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for WPS, said.
“We have to be prepared for the 'long game' in the West Philippine Sea and look at the strategic or bigger picture. Amid all of these, your Navy and your AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] will continue performing its mandate of ensuring the integrity of our national territory,” he stressed.
The largest number of deployed Chinese vessels was in Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, where 46 CMMVs, two CCG ships, and two PLA-N warships were present.
In Iroquois Reef, there were 28 CMMVs and two PLA-N warships while there were 12 CMMVs, 10 CCG ships, and five PLA-N warships in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.
In Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, there were 12 CMMVs, 10 CCG ships, and two PLA-N warships. The two Chinese research vessels were monitored in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal where there were also five CCG ships, six CMMVs, and a PLA-N warship.
Other features with Chinese presence were Parola Island, Kota Island, Likas Island, Lawak Island, Panata Island, Rizal Reef, and Julan Felipe Reef.
The development came as two missile-capable warships of China reportedly tailed two vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and pointed lasers at a BFAR plane near the Hasa-Hasa (Half-Moon) Shoal during a maritime patrol last Sept. 27.